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Probiotics in Food

10-Min Read

Tags: diet and nutrition,FODMAP,gut health,microbiome

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Probiotics are microorganisms that benefit health. Probiotic foods contain these beneficial microorganisms, helping to top up a healthy microbiome. Yogurt is probably the best-known probiotic food, but many other foods are also packed full of bacteria and yeasts that all play a role in good health.

The Benefits of Probiotic Foods

Like probiotic supplements, probiotic foods can restore and maintain a good balance of microorganisms in the gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts. Probiotic foods can also help maintain a healthy pH in the gastrointestinal tract, which makes it easier for other beneficial microorganisms to thrive, and harder for disease-causing pathogenic bacteria and yeasts to get a foothold.

Probiotics found in foods can also synthesize certain fatty acids that help manage inflammation. Some probiotic species and strains even synthesize neurotransmitters and essential vitamins that the body cannot produce itself, such as vitamin B12.

Putting it all together, including probiotic foods in your daily diet, can help support:

Immune function
Digestive health
Cognitive and emotional health

Probiotic foods are also a great way to support your overall health and well-being.

7 of the Best Probiotic Foods

Some of the most delicious, nutritious, and commonly available probiotic foods to consider adding to your diet include:

Sauerkraut
Yogurt
Kimchi
Tempeh
Miso
Pickles
Kombucha

Maybe you’re already partial to pickles and have been tempted by tempeh, but what about those other probiotic foods? Here’s a quick intro to each one and some tips on how to include them in your daily diet.

Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut is a staple in many Eastern European countries, but this sour, salty, fermented cabbage is new to many North American dinner tables. Sauerkraut is a great source of probiotics and also provides vitamin C and other nutrients to support good health.

Most store-bought sauerkraut has been pasteurized, killing all the bacteria, even the good ones. So, make sure to buy traditional sauerkraut that still contains probiotics, or create your own at home!

Sauerkraut is easy to eat, slightly crunchy, and super delicious. It goes especially well with most kinds of meat and potato dishes.

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Ways to eat sauerkraut
Eat with avocado toast for breakfast	2 Tbsp
Serve with spicy or smoked sausages in a bun for breakfast or lunch	3 Tbsp
Add a dollop to soup or stew for lunch	1–2 Tbsp
Serve on the side with pierogis, baked or mashed potatoes, stews, soups, or salads	2 Tbsp

Yogurt

Yogurt is often a great source of live cultures, includingLactobacillus acidophilus and bifidobacteria, to support digestion and general health. Like sauerkraut, store-bought yogurt may have been pasteurized, or even created without live cultures, meaning it’s important to check the label and find a product that contains probiotics.

Avoiding dairy? Don’t worry. These days, there are tons of dairy-free yogurts made with almonds, cashews, coconut, and soy, many of which contain live cultures.

If you’re making yogurt a daily staple, try to choose unsweetened probiotic yogurts, so you can avoid inadvertently increasing your sugar intake.

Ways to eat yogurt
Add to granola and fruit for breakfast	3 Tbsp
Mix with a mid-morning smoothie	3 Tbsp
Swirl into soup for lunch	1–2 Tbsp
Serve on the side with chili, baked potatoes, stew, curry, and other hot dishes	2 Tbsp

Miso

Miso is a staple probiotic food in Japan and is very popular in macrobiotic diets. Although miso is traditionally made from fermented soybeans, it can also be made from rice, barley, and rye.

Miso is packed with lactobacilli and bifidobacteria, meaning it is a great choice for supporting both small and large intestines. Miso is also usually quite salty, however; so you only need a little bit and will want to mix it with water or unsalted broth.

Miso can be used to make a delicious, umami-rich, low-calorie soup, or added to stews and marinades.It is also a source of B vitamins and other nutrients.

Ways to eat miso
Add a little to water for savoury breakfast oatmeal	½ Tbsp
Mix with tahini and unsalted stock or broth for a ramen noodle lunch	½ Tbsp
Add to a marinade for tofu, mushrooms, veggies, or meat	1 Tbsp

Pickles

Pickles sometimes have their own aisle at the grocery store, and for good reason. If you haven’t discovered the world of pickles yet, you’re in for a treat. These crunchy, tangy, sometimes spicy, sometimes sour, and always delicious probiotic foods can include pickled beets, beans, cucumbers, onions, radish, ginger, asparagus, and many other veggies.

Some store-bought pickles are pasteurized, and some have added sugar or preservatives, so it’s best to avoid them. Look for pickles made with traditional methods, such as kosher pickles made using brine. You can also make your own pickles at home with certain types of cucumbers, beans, and onions specially bred for storage through pickling.

Ways to eat pickles
Eat a sweet pickle, such as onion or ginger, with a breakfast sandwich	1 Tbsp
Snack on pickled beans or asparagus with hummus or another dip mid-morning	4–5 pickled beans/asparagus tips
Add sliced pickles to sandwiches for lunch or serve as a side	1 Tbsp
Try pickled radish and ginger with sushi	½ Tbsp

Tempeh

Like miso, tempeh is also traditionally made from fermented soybeans, though it can also be made from chickpeas and other legumes. Tempeh is a fantastic source of probiotics and protein and has a deliciously nutty and mushroom-like flavour.

Ways to eat tempeh
Make a tempeh breakfast Reuben	1 slice/piece of tempeh
Marinate tempeh with oil, soy sauce, maple syrup, and liquid smoke for a piece of plant-based bacon at breakfast, lunch, or dinner	½ block, thinly sliced and fried
Sauté tempeh pieces and include with ramen or noodle dishes	½ block, cubed
Process with mushrooms and veggies to make a protein-packed veggie burger mix	1–2 blocks to make 12 burgers
Lightly pan fry slices of tempeh and add to salads or rice bowls	½ block, sliced and fried

Kimchi

Consider kimchi the Asian cousin to Eastern European sauerkraut. Like sauerkraut, kimchi is primarily made with fermented cabbage, though it also typically includes vinegar, garlic, chilli peppers, and scallions, and even radishes, carrots, and other veggies.

Kimchi is typically spicy and sour and is a popular probiotic food eaten at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, especially in Korean cuisine. A great digestive aid, kimchi is also an important source of vitamins A, C, B1, and B2, and beta-carotene, calcium, and iron, especially in those winter months when fresh veggies are hard to find.

Ways to eat kimchi
Mix with eggs and scramble for breakfast, or add to an omelet	¼–1 cup kimchi (cut big pieces into smaller slices)
Straight out of the jar as a snack!	½ cup
Add to rice, noodles, or soup for lunch or dinner	2–3 Tbsp
Use a toothpick to make kimchi bites with larger chunks of cabbage and veggies	1–2 Tbsp
Serve on the side with Korean barbeque dishes	2 Tbsp
Heat up a little kimchi with oil as a side dish, or serve cold	½ cup
Include in a tortilla wrap with veggies and shredded tofu, tempeh, or meat	2 Tbsp
Make kimchi pancakes with scallions	½ cup kimchi and ½ cup kimchi juice to every ½ cup flour
Make spicy, buttery kimchi pasta sauce	½ cup kimchi to 1 stick of butter
Kimchi mac and cheese	¼ cup added as a mid-layer

Kombucha Tea

Kombucha is a fermented tea that contains a plethora of probiotics, thanks to the bacteria naturally present on black tea leaves. This tasty probiotic drink is easy and cheap to make at home and is a little bit tangy. It’s also a great pick-me-up as it typically contains caffeine.

Unfortunately, many store-bought kombucha drinks have a lot of added sugar, so check labels carefully or make your own stash at home.

Because kombucha contains caffeine, it’s best to drink it in the mornings and early afternoons only. You can sometimes find kombucha made with decaffeinated black tea, but this is rare. If you’re making your own kombucha at home, you can experiment with different types of tea!

To make flavoured kombucha, you can add grated ginger, fruit, and spices during the first or second (bottle) ferment. If you want to make a batch of a single flavour, the first ferment is often easier. To experiment with different flavours, and to add a little extra carbonation to the bottle, add the fruit when bottling.

Bottled kombucha can usually last in the fridge for a week or more, but highfruit content can lead to bottle explosions, so beware of adding too much to a single bottle! Once you’ve established a good kombucha brewing rotation, you should always have a convenient source of probiotics on tap!

Ways to drink kombucha
In place of your morning coffee or tea	1 glass
Added to smoothies or juice	1 cup
In place of your afternoon tea or coffee	1 glass
As a kombucha float!	1 cup kombucha to 1 scoop of ice cream

Probiotic foods are essential parts of almost all cultures, especially as fermentation and pickling are such convenient ways to store fresh food to tide us over during the winter months. Different probiotic foods vary in nutrient composition, with some providing lots of protein and others being a source of caffeine, vitamin C, or B vitamins. Including a wide variety of probiotic foods in your diet is a great idea for supporting digestive health and all-round health.

To make the most of probiotic foods, try eating them alongside prebiotic foods.

What are prebiotic foods?

While probiotic foods contain the beneficial microorganisms that make up a healthy microbiome, prebiotic foods are the ones that feed probiotics.

Put another way, prebiotic foods contain a specific kind of fibre that humans can’t digest but that probiotic bacteria love. Some of the best kinds of prebiotic fibres include inulin, galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), and fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS). These types of fibres pass through the gastrointestinal tract to reach the large intestine intact, where they fuel the good bacteria to maintain balance, or eubiosis, in the gut and beyond.

Some of the best prebiotic foods include:

Asparagus, Jerusalem artichokes, sweetcorn
Bananas, peaches, grapefruit, pomegranate, dates, figs
Leeks, onions, fennel, garlic
Cabbage, chicory, green peas, snow peas, beetroot
Oatmeal, barley, rye, whole wheat
Chickpeas, lentils, red kidney beans, soybeans
Cashews, pistachio nuts
Maple syrup

A wholefood, plant-based diet is typically rich in probiotic and prebiotic foods. In contrast, a diet that includes lots of meat and some other animal-derived products may feed undesirable bacteria in the colon.

Foods that are a good source of prebiotic fibres are also usually rich in vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. Prebiotics may also help support the absorption of other nutrients, in part because prebiotics and probiotics help maintain overall digestive health. Indigestible fibre also helps slow down digestion, allowing more time for nutrient absorption. Prebiotic fibre can also reduce the glycemic index of food, which makes it easier for the body to manage blood sugar.

How to include more probiotic and prebiotic foods in your diet

Because probiotic microorganisms create gaseous byproducts when digesting prebiotic fibre, it’s a good idea to increase probiotics and prebiotics gradually. Otherwise, a sudden increase in either can lead to flatulence.

The best practice is to introduce probiotic and prebiotic foods slowly over a week, starting with a small amount each day. This gives the gut a better chance of adapting without discomfort.

What about FODMAPs?

If you’re following the Monash University low-FODMAP diet to help with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), you’re likely avoiding many probiotic and prebiotic foods. Having IBS doesn’t mean missing out on the benefits of probiotics and prebiotics. In fact, these kinds of foods can be especially helpful for anyone with digestive troubles.

The thing to remember is that the FODMAP diet is only meant to be used for 2–6 weeks to allow some relief time for the digestive system. Thereafter, you can gradually reintroduce a broad range of foods, with the long-term goal of returning to a normal diet with few restrictions and a good intake of high-fibre foods. Unnecessarily restricting probiotic and prebiotic foods long-term can mean missing out on beneficial fibre and many vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients.

When else are probiotic and prebiotic foods a good idea?

Probiotic and prebiotic foods are great to include in abundance during or after a course of antibiotics. This can help restore and maintain a healthy microbiome, especially after the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics that don’t discriminate between helpful and harmful microorganisms.

A higher amount of probiotic and prebiotic foods is also recommended for anyone who is nursing an infant. This is because friendly bacteria pass into breast milk and can help develop an infant’s immune system. Probiotic and prebiotic foods can also help reset the balance in instances of diarrhea, constipation, and nausea or vomiting, as well as when managing ongoing digestive issues. However, it’s best to consult with a health care practitioner before making any significant dietary changes and before taking any new supplements.

Finally, it’s a good idea for older adults to ensure a regular intake of probiotic and prebiotic foods. This is because healthy gut bacteria often decline with age. To maintain good health, support digestive health, and help relieve constipation, include prebiotic- and probiotic-rich foods daily.

Probiotic and Prebiotic Supplements

There are many ways to include probiotic foods in your everyday diet, but it can still be a struggle to eat sufficient amounts to really benefit health.Plus, some probiotic foods take a little getting used to if you’re not familiar with the taste or how to cook with them.

There are also times when a critical-care probiotic supplement may be better positioned to quickly restore a disturbed microbiome, such as after sickness or antibiotic use.

High-quality probiotic supplements offer a guaranteed intake of beneficial microorganisms. Some also include prebiotics to feed those bacteria. However, not all probiotic supplements are created equal. The species and strains of a probiotic make a difference, as does the dose. And naturally, the only probiotics that do anything for good health are the ones that make it all the way to the intestine alive.

All Webber Naturals probiotics are selected for their ability to survive gastric acid intact and have a guaranteed count of live cells (colony forming units, or CFUs) right up to expiry, not just at manufacture.

Leigh Matthews, BA Hons, H.Dip. NT

Leigh Matthews is a health and wellness writer specializing in plant-based nutrition and environmental health.

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